Connecting the Real Estate Community

Posts Tagged ‘
marketing strategies ’

Referrals remain in top spot; YouTube and video sites bump blogging from last place; Agents get lower results from print marketing toward end of year

Announcing the results of the HomeGain Realtor® Marketing Preferences Survey reflective of cumulative data from May and August surveys.

Based on responses from over 1,200 real estate agents and brokers nationwide, the results show a large dependence on referrals for acquiring new clients, with a cumulative overall score of 8.9 out of a possible 10 for effectiveness, which is slightly higher than Realtors indicated in the December-February HomeGain Realtor Marketing Survey.

Leads from their brokers and events, which includes open houses and fairs, are considered the next two most effective marketing strategies, replacing featured listings and email campaigns as indicated in the December-February survey.

Postcards and mailers were bumped from the fourth rank in the December-February survey to sixth, but for August results alone, it was scored as the eighth most effective strategy. Print ads were bumped off the list as a most effective marketing tactic, but listed as their ninth top marketing objective.

Survey results show a substantial decline in agents’ marketing results with blogging (moving from the fifth spot to eleventh spot since February), but an increase in social networking, which includes Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn, particularly with Facebook.

Agents’ opinion of how effective getting leads from their brokers was scored 6.0 in the May HomeGain Realtor Marketing Survey and decreased to 5.5 in August. Similarly, agents scored the effectiveness of participating in real estate focused events a 5.3 in May and only 4.7 in August.

Four least effective strategies and marketing objectives that did not make either top 10 list, from highest to lowest score, are blogging, outdoor ads, pay per click and banner ads.

Top 10 Effective Marketing Strategies for Realtors:

Referrals (Total score of 8.9 out of 10)

Leads From Your Broker (5.7)

Events (5.0)

Featured Listings (4.7)

Email Campaigns (4.6)

Postcards/Mailers (4.5)

Craigslist (4.3)

Social Networking (4.3)

Online Lead Generation Services (4.3)

YouTube / Video Sites (3.8)

(Cumulative Averages, 1=least effective/10 most effective)

Top 10 Marketing Objectives for Realtors in 2010:

Referrals (8.8 out of 10)

Leads From Your Broker (6.0)

Events (5.7)

Email Campaigns (5.3)

Craigslist (5.0)

Postcards/Mailers (5.0)

Social Networking (4.9)

Featured Listings (4.9)

Print Ads (4.2)

Online Lead Generation Services (4.0)

(Cumulative Averages, 1=least likely to use/10 most likely to use)

Surveyed agents indicated that they will continue to focus on referrals as their leading marketing strategy for the remainder of 2010, followed by leads from their brokers, events and email campaigns respectively. Craigslist moves up to the fifth top objective, and featured listings moves down from the fourth to the eighth top objective.

Cumulative averages are based on two surveys conducted in March and August 2010.

HomeGain conducts regular surveys of Realtors, including the HomeGain Home Improvement Survey, a quarterly HomeGain Home Prices Survey, and a Green Home Improvement Survey. The 2010 fourth quarter HomeGain Home Prices Survey results will be announced next month.

HomeGain’s AgentView online marketing program provides real estate agents with several of the top 10 most effective marketing practices for reaching potential home buyers and sellers in an all-in-one, exclusive and ad-free platform.

How effective are the different marketing options out there for you as a real estate professional? What are other Realtors spending money and time on that you aren’t…but perhaps should be?

Over 600 real estate agents and brokers completed the HomeGain Realtor Marketing Survey this month, giving us insight into this year’s top marketing strategies for acquiring new business.

Top 10 Effective Marketing Strategies for Realtors*:

Referrals (Scored 8.9 out of a possible 10)

Leads From Broker (6.0)

Events (Open Houses, Fairs, etc.) (5.3)

Featured Listings (5.0)

Email Campaigns (4.7)

Postcards/Mailers (4.6)

Social Networking (4.3)

Craigslist (4.2)

Online Lead Generation Services (4.1)

Print Ads (4.0)

* (1 = Least Effective /10 = Most Effective; Final scores are rounded up or down)

Surveyed agents indicated that they think referrals is the most effective strategy for acquiring new clients, with a score of 8.9 out of a possible 10 for effectiveness, compared to 8.7 earlier this year. Similarly, they also indicated that they will continue to focus on referrals as their leading marketing strategy for the remainder of 2010.

The next two most effective strategies were new additions to the survey results — Leads from the broker and events, which includes open houses, fairs, etc. Craigslist was also a new addition not seen on the previous two surveys.

The survey revealed the lowest most effective marketing strategies, in order: Craigslist, online lead generation services and print ads.

Five marketing strategies that did not make the top 10 most effective marketing strategies list, in order of score highest to lowest were: outdoor ads (4.0), YouTube / video sites (3.8), blogging (3.6), banner ads (3.4), and pay per click (3.1).

2010 Marketing Goals

Surveyed agents indicated that they would like to focus on top marketing strategies — referrals, leads from their brokers, and participate in more real estate focused events.

Five marketing methods that did not make Realtors’ top marketing objectives for 2010, in order of score highest to lowest: online lead generation (3.6), blogging (3.6), banner ads (3.4), outdoor advertising (2.7), and pay per click (2.3).

AgentView online marketing program provides real estate agents with several of the top 10 most effective marketing practices for reaching potential new home buyers and sellers in an all-in-one, exclusive and ad-free platform.

Yesterday we were delighted to welcome Deborah Miller of Intero Real Estate in the Bay Area to the HomeGain headquarters in Emeryville, CA.

Deb Miller is a member of online marketing programs, AgentView and AgentEvaluator. Since the real estate market has changed over the years since she began the programs, she felt it would be a key move to meet with the HomeGain Team so they could assist her in updating her marketing strategies and positioning.

Think that you would like to reevaluate your current positioning with HomeGain programs to give your business an extra boost? Give us a call at (866) 512-7918 or email us. The HomeGain Team is always here to help!

Interested in finding out what other real estate agents and brokers include in their marketing strategies?

Sure, a lot of an agent’s “success” has to do with the market’s condition, but there is a huge amount of magic behind a real estate agent in terms of acquiring leads, converting them to clients, keeping clients and making deals happen.

HomeGain offers a Winning Agent Call every month featuring a new real estate agent or broker. There is a new topic of discussion each time, and hundreds of agents register to listen in for a chance to get new ideas or a fresh outlook.

Recent Comments

HomeGain Real Estate Blog is a publishing tool for posting real
estate opinions, news, data, ideas, and information. Real estate agents and
brokers can find new blog posts daily and subscribe to receive an email based
blog newsletter. Blog article categories include Realtor® best practices,
strategies for reaching home buyers and sellers, web site and online marketing
tactics, social media, real estate technology, real estate trade shows, MLS,
real estate market trends and HomeGain. The opinions expressed by the bloggers
and those providing comments are theirs alone and may not reflect the views or
opinions of HomeGain. HomeGain is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the
information supplied by the bloggers or those who comment.